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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. fall — to drop
  3. craft — boats
  4. spring — the season
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. spring — a coil
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. last — finally
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. last — final
  15. wind — moving air
  16. last — to go on
  17. fall — the season
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. kid — to tease
  20. wind — moving air
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. craft — a skill
  24. kid — child

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com